Marine electronics includes a multitude of electronic devices from a GPS to Satellite TV. There is a direct relationship between the size of the boat and the extent of the electronics employed but even a rowboat might find a boat GPS and a portable fish finder useful. A guy all by himself in a life raft could benefit from a fish finder to help find fish for food or keep track of the sharks, and a portable GPS unit so that even when he is lost at sea he will always know where he is, even if no one else does.

The need for a radio increases with the increase in the size of the boat, since larger boats tend to go farther out and communications becomes a matter of safety rather than just convenience. A chart plotter and radar would come after the radio as the size of our ‘boat’ moves toward ‘ship’. As you move up the line you be adding things like an electronic compass.

A solar battery charger might be an emergency resource to prevent the loss of power to all of this vital equipment though it is by no means a requirement. You do want to make sure your marine electronics are properly maintained, however, because if you are in the middle of open water and for some reason you lose power you will be in trouble unless you are an experienced navigator and can find your way by using the sun and stars.

Even if trained in celestial navigation you will be hard pressed to find a boating enthusiast who actually feels confident in his ability to navigate without the use of marine electronics.

We have become used to the convince of modern technology, but what do we do if the technology breaks down? In the tradition of the Boy Scouts it might be good to ‘be prepared’ and either have back up equipment or learn at least rudimentary navigation techniques. Man has become dependent on his technology in todays world.

Today many students have become calculator dependent and find even simple addition problems difficult unless they have a calculator. This might seem unbelievable but I have seen this tutoring math to High school students over the last 10 years. We used slide rules back in the dark ages when I went to school. There aren’t a large number of people today who can remember how to use a slide rule.

As out technology advances we tend to forget how to operate without it. You should not worry about getting lost at sea if you are planning going on a cruise because the marine electronics rarely goes down and there should be at least one trained navigator on board, just make sure his name isn’t Gilligan.

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Technology and Gadgets